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Interesting that Ghomeshi's lawyer is a woman and famed for her ability to demolish the crown's witnesses. Is it a case of "...the female of the species is more deadly than the male."? Or is just a case of this particular defence lawyer channeling her "inner Hilary", so to speak - as in when the current would-be Democrat nominee trashed women who claimed to have been assaulted or lovers of her husband, then-president Bill Clinton?

*"frances says... famed for her ability to demolish the crown's witnesses"

and, i imagine, proud of her reputation. i suspect that she holds no small amount of contempt for any woman who who put herself in a position to be ghomeshi's punching bag... not once, but multiple times.

No, Frances, she's just a very good, well-known and accordingly high-priced defence lawyer. She's exactly who you want in your corner if the state ever accuses you of anything.

Neo, try not to be completely absurd. A defence lawyer represents their clients to the best of their ability regardless of their personal position or views. It's their job requirement to put to the test all the evidence put forward by the Crown. Should a lawyer not do their best, they can be reasonably accused of legal malpractice.

First witness releases statement via lawyer after her testimony: "This experience of coming to court to testify and give evidence and to face Mr. Ghomeshi has been extraordinary difficult in light of what happened to me. I always understood that this process would be difficult and I remain satisfied that I chose to come forward despite how difficult this process has been. I wish to take this moment to thank my friends and family and the police who have steadfastly supported me in my efforts to do what I believe was right. I want to encourage other victims of abuse to come forward and not be afraid. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I have had the chance to tell my story openly."

lawyer marie henein has added yet another scalp to her cv today... confirming her reputation for aggressively defending her clients. i suspect this will springboard her career regardless of what happens here next.

if you look at ms henein's knockout blow today (where she confronts the witness about sending a bikini pic to ghomeshi after the alleged assaults), you will see that is exactly where she scored the most heavily.

i would (assuming i won the lottery) certainly hire ms henein as my lawyer if i ran afoul of the law.

The fact that Ms. Henein is a woman is the only reason Ghomeshi has a shot at being acquitted. A male lawyer aggressively defending Ghomeshi would make his accusers look like victims being bullied by a big mean man all over again, an image no defense lawyer wants in the jury's minds. A female lawyer can play the opportunistic slut card and get away with it.

*"daniel_ream says...female lawyer can play the opportunistic slut card"

sure, having a female lawyer was a deliberate choice, but really a no-brainer. that said... she also had to have some facts that supported her case.

ms henein tripped the witness up in multiple instances of, let's call them, "inconsistencies". instead of saying "i don't know" or even, "i don't remember" which would have been understandable given the elapsed time since the alleged assaults... the witness offered up apparently faulty memories which potentially damaged her credibility.

the fact that she sent ghomeshi an sexually explicit photograph after the "traumatic" events she vividly described is not easily explained away. at best, giving the witness the benefit of the doubt that the picture was "bait" to get ghomeshi's attention... it quite seriously brings her judgement into question.

if a cop had done something like this, the defense would be screaming entrapment. in addition it waters down her assertion that she was traumatised (to the point that she says she couldn't even listen to ghomeshi on the radio).

i'm not saying she's lying about being assaulted... but, imho... her testimony and that picture has seriously damaged the prosecution's case. it has also likely scared the crap outta the witnesses who are supposed to follow.

ghomeshi is getting his million dollar defense... of that there is no doubt.